The Business of Flight Training Blog:The Brown Buzz

As a thank you to the flight training community this Holiday, Brown Aviation is giving away over $5,000 dollars worth of prizes! This year, the grand prize for the flight training program with the most Holiday Spirit is a brand new 2014 Redbird Jay! All you have to to do to enter is take a photo showcasing the Holiday Spirit at your academy and submit it to our contest page on Facebook.

Like any engine, aircraft engines require some tender loving care to ensure longevity. When it comes to your training program you want to make sure you keep your aircraft engines in optimal shape to help preserve your investment and keep maintenance costs to a minimum. Let’s explore ways you can damage a piston aircraft engine so you’re better prepared to protect your investment:

We are excited to have a guest post this week from Ian Twombly, Editor of AOPA Flight Training Magazine. Ian has an extensive background in flight training and has contributed to several industry blogs including the AOPA Pilot Blog and Flight Training Blog.

Bright skies ahead for pilots currently in the job market. A recent article in USA Today revealed that airlines plan to hire hundreds of new pilots. Still, in the interim many warn that a pilot shortage is actually on the horizon because of retirement, greater training requirements, and longer rest periods. Let’s explore why the mandatory retirement age of 65 and increased training could leave airlines with a pilot shortage and out of luck when it comes to finding the experience they need.

Recently, an FAA advisory committee reported findings that WiFi is safe to use during all phases of flight. For the millions of commercial flyers this means-- you may not have to wait until 10,000 feet to use electronics in flight. And many pilots are left saying -- it’s about time.

In part one of this post we discussed the goals, plans, challenges, and timelines of why people buy. Understanding why students choose a flight training program can help you better “sell” your program. This article outlines two areas of how people buy that I think are appropriate as it relates to your flight training program: budget and authority.

When prospective students are evaluating your flight training program they likely follow the same decision making process they would use when purchasing any other goods or services. Sure, the timeline may be longer and the stakes may be higher but the underlying motivators remain the same. Why and how people buy is a highly talked about topic and this article does a good job of explaining four areas central to why we buy things: goals, plans, challenges, and timelines or GPCT. Let’s explore how you can understand GPCT for your prospective students and their goals, plans, challenges, and timelines when evaluating flight training programs.

The rising cost of aviation fuel has undoubtedly had an impact on flying habits in general aviation. We’re determined to uncover some of the effects, and are offering $1 Avgas to find out. For most of October (unfortunately the promotion was cut short due to overwhelming demand), Brown Aviation, Redbird and a consortium of other great industry partners are dropping the price of Avgas to $1.00 a gallon. This will provide us with data on Avgas costs and the fuel shortage. But, as new technology and alternative energy methods become mainstream could there be a lasting effect on the Avgas fuel shortage and bright skies ahead for general aviation pilots?

Believe it!! - $6.23 is the national average for 100LL as of 2:30pm yesterday, Monday September 30th. However, starting today, Tuesday October 1st, 2013 the price of avgas is going to plummet. Thanks to Redbird, Brown Aviation and a consortium of other great industry partners, the price of avgas will drop to $1.00 a gallon for the entire month of October. Jaw dropping I know!

Fall is in the air and football is on TV. On Sunday it’s game day in my house. And whether you’re an NFL or college football fan (or both) it’s hard to ignore the excitement come September. In light of the upcoming season let’s look at 3 things football can teach you about the business of flight training.